Welcome to Light Table

Light Table is visual version control with Git for Glyphs. Create new versions, restore old outlines, and collaborate on projects directly in Glyphs.

There are currently three major features:

• Creating new versions
• Comparing the current version to old versions
• Restoring old versions

Getting Started

In Glyphs, open the settings window (Glyphs → Settings…) and add the following line in the Addons section to Alternate Plugin Repos:

https://formkunft.com/glyphs/packages-preview.plist

Then, search for Light Table in Window → Plugin Manager and click Install. Light Table requires and macOS 12 or later.

Light Table works with all file formats that Glyphs supports (for example, .glyphs, .glyphspackage, and UFO files). However, the plugin currently works best with .glyphspackage files. In Glyphs, save a file to a different format with File → Save As… → File Format.

Creating Versions

Click the Repository button to show the changes since the last version. The repository window will open, showing on the left side the files that have changed since the latest version.

Staging Files

You “stage” changes so that they are included in the next version. Next to each file is a checkbox and one or two status icons. Modified files are indicated with a dot. New files show a question mark, which turns to a plus sign when the file is staged. Deleted files show a minus sign.

• If the file is not staged, then the checkbox is unchecked, and one status icon is shown on the right side.
• If the file is staged, then the checkbox is checked, and one status icon is shown on the left side.
• If the file is partially staged (not all changes of the file are staged), then the checkbox is half-checked and two status icons are shown.

Click the checkbox to stage or unstage a file. To stage or unstage all files to be included in the next version, use the Stage All/Unstage All button above the file list.

Staging Glyphs

You can also stage only some parts of a file. This is useful when you are working on a glyph and only want to commit the changes to a layer, a path, or any other part of the glyph.

Click on the glyph in the files list. All current changes of the glyph appear on the right side of the window. Stage individual changes using the checkbox on the left side of each row.

Committing the Staged Changes

Once you have staged the changes you want to be included in the next version, write a short commit message (a few words suffice) in the text field located in the top left of the window. If you would like, you can describe the changes in more detail in the larger text field below. Then, click the Commit button to create a new version.

Comparing Versions

In the Light Table palette, click a version to compare the current outlines to the outlines from the selected version. The Light Table tool will activate. You can also activate the Light Table tool directly by clicking its icon in the toolbar or pressing the shortcut key D (as in “differences”).

Tip: When working in a team, it can be useful to show the profile picture of your collaborators in the palette next to each version. For this, grant Light Table access in the settings (click the three dots in the Light Table palette → Settings… → Profiles).

Changing the Comparison Appearance

With the Light Table tool active, both the current outlines and the outlines of the selected version are displayed. You can modify the appearance of this comparison in the Light Table settings (click the three dots in the Light Table palette → Settings… → Comparison)

Hold down the Shift (⇧) key to switch between the current version and the selected version. The comparison outlines will be inverted, and the the Info box of the layer will show the values from the selected version. Also, when holding down Shift and the Space bar, the filled-in outlines of the selected version will be displayed.

Aligning the Compared Outlines

Often, the sidebearings of layers will change between versions. This can make it difficult to see the actual changes to the shapes of the layer outlines. To ignore the sidebearing changes, align the outlines using the  align left,  align center, and  align right options in the Info box.

Choose the no alignment  option to not align outlines, which is the default behavior. You can also pick a different default by Option-clicking one of the options or in the Light Table settings (click the three dots in the Light Table palette → Settings… → Comparison).

Comparing Fonts with Font Proofer

If you have the Font Proofer app installed, then you can create a Font Proofer document comparing the current version with a previous version. Right-click a version in the Light Table palette and choose Compare in Font Proofer…

Restoring Versions

You can restore a single glyph or even just a layer from a previous version. And if needed, you can also restore an entire document from an old version.

Restoring Glyphs & Layers

With the  Light Table tool active, click the restore button. You will be presented a menu with the following options:

Restore Glyph

First, renames the current glyph to an alternative glyph name like someGlyph.001. Then, restores the glyph from the selected version.

Restoration details

• Unicode code points shared by the current and the restored glyph are removed from the current glyph and kept on the restored glyph.
• Other code points of the restored glyph that are already used in the font are removed from the restored glyph.

Restore Glyph as “…”

Restores the glyph from the selected version under a new name like someGlyph.001 in the current font. The current glyph is left unchanged.

Restoration details

Unicode code points of the restored glyph that are already used in the font (either by the current glyph or any other glyph) are removed from the restored glyph.

Restore Layer

First, creates a backup layer with the contents of the current layer. Then, replaces the current layer with the layer from the selected version.

Restore Layer as Backup Layer

Restores the layer from the selected version as a backup layer. The current layers are left unchanged.

Restore Layer as Background

Restores the layer from the selected version by replacing the current background. Any paths, anchors, and other elements on the current background will first be deleted.

Restoring Documents

In the Light Table palette, right-click a version. In the menu that opens, choose either Open in New Window or Save to…

Open in New Window will open the document from the selected version in a new window. This allows you to inspect the document as it was back then. For example, you might want to have a look at its font info or copy glyphs into the current document. Use File → Save to save the restored document to a file.

If you just want to save the restored document to a file, choose Save to… from the menu. A save panel will open, prompting you to pick the location where you want the restored document to be saved.